Van Hollen, Castle announce joint agreement on campaign finance

A bipartisan pair of top House lawmakers announced compromise legislation on Monday night to advance campaign finance reform.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Rep. Mike Castle (Del.), a veteran lawmaker who's running as a Republican for Senate this fall, announced a deal they had struck to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year freeing up corporate and labor spending in elections.

The two said they'd struck an agreement, though they did not immediately provide specifics of what their legislation might look like.

"The bipartisan legislative response to this ruling will promote openness in government and compel disclosure of the money that is being used to finance elections," Van Hollen and Castle said in a joint statement. "We believe the American people have the right to know who is spending money to influence our democracy. Furthermore, it will close loopholes to prevent foreign influence, as well as keep major beneficiaries of taxpayer money from financing political campaigns."

Van Hollen had also been working closely with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the other side of the Capitol to respond to the Citizens United v. FEC decision earlier this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that campaign finance reform is among Democrats' legislative priorities this work period.

The bipartisan duo of Castle and Van Hollen urged colleagues to get on board with their agreement in the meanwhile.

"The Court’s ruling in this case demonstrates a blatant disregard for its own precedents and ignores the clear intent of Congress to reduce the influence of powerful special interests," they said. "We have an obligation to provide transparency and integrity in our political process, and we urge our colleagues to join us in supporting this important legislation.”